I recently bought a 10 gallon aquarium at a flea market thinking I would give my current betta a grand new home - figuring on putting a bunch of hiding places and whatnot so he won't get too overwhelmed with the vastness of his new space

hes been in a 1 gallon brandy snifter style bowl for about a year now - but I've been having water quality issues and his fins have slowly fizzled down

so my questions are:

1. do you think his fins will come back to their former flowing beauty in a larger, more easily maintained tank... or is he stuck this way now?

2. how often should I change the water in a 10 gallon tank (it won't have a filter (at least not at first) but it will have a heater and a small, gentle airstone, probably in one corner or against the back wall)

3. I'm not in love with the idea of a 10 gallon tank taking up a whole end table just for ONE fish... soooooo I'm considering adding a cory or two - is this a bad idea?

The cory will be fine, but you're increasing the bioload, so that means more frequent water changes especially without a filter. Because it breathes air, you don't really need the airtone. I don't even use any in my main tank, i have driftwood with javamoss on it. It generates enough oxygen for my fish.

If you WANT to add friends in the tank, add a filter or else you'll be working a lot.

Hey Im so happy for you finding a big tank for him ! I am setting up a 20 gallon for my king betta "Henry David" ....i think it will do your betta a world of good having him in a bigger tank.....
as for tank mates & water changes ,im not really sure yet...there seems to be mixed opinions about the tank mates & what kind ....in a 20 gallon id like some too ! :)

Tank mates are always tricky. There's general rules, but sometimes you get one fish that isn't like the rest of his breed. I have a gourami that started out aggressive, and now is really tame and shy, even though he's still the biggest thing in the tank.

Your 20gal, I'd say corys are a good pick. Bottom dwellers, so they won't be in Henry's space. BUT, they don't eat at the surface, they wait for food to fall down. So.... if you have flakes, pinch a bit in your hands, put it under the water so it's wet, wait like 2-3 seconds and let it go. it'll sink to the bottom and they'll eat it. Cause if you leave it at the surface, it sounds liek Henry will eat it all hehehe

thanks for the advice... it's looking like my brilliant plan wasn't so brilliant after all - now I'm either going to have to disassemble everything or go all out with the hood/light/filter etc. :/
I was HOPING to get away with just the screen top - but I didn't really consider a light source that way
if I have the filter and everything I suppose I could rethink the whole tankmates situation

obviously with the stupid 10 gallon my options are sorta limited
any thoughts on the idea of neons or dwarf frogs (with the betta) instead of corys?

also - I put a 6" airstone in against the back wall to the left - there is a decent amount of calm water and room for him to avoid it but the betta keeps going over and getting caught in the current - is this a problem?

Shouldn't be a problem. If he's going to the current on his own, means he likes it i guess. hehehe, and if he has no mates in there, no need for an airstone. He's getting his oxygen from the surface anyways. This can at least reduce noise (I hate air pumps, too noisy)

I just wanted the airstone for the visual interest - I was hoping he would do ok with it - so far so good I guess :)

I got this tetra whisper air pump (after reading MANY reviews) and I have to say it's virtually silent... the bubbles make more noise than the pump!
I'm very glad because the last air pump I had was a constant cause of irritation... I was ALWAYS trying to find ways to buffer it, to no avail

I just wanted the airstone for the visual interest - I was hoping he would do ok with it - so far so good I guess :)

I got this tetra whisper air pump (after reading MANY reviews) and I have to say it's virtually silent... the bubbles make more noise than the pump!
I'm very glad because the last air pump I had was a constant cause of irritation... I was ALWAYS trying to find ways to buffer it, to no avail

anyway - thanks for the input :)

Interesting. I forget what brand I have but I hated the pump. It was the only noise, and i like my tank being super silent. Drawback I've seen so far is how shy some of my fish have become. Guess it's so quiet in the day that when I get home they get spooked and hide.

Maybe I'll start playing motley crue for them all day long and keep them awake. ;)

Interesting. I forget what brand I have but I hated the pump. It was the only noise, and i like my tank being super silent. Drawback I've seen so far is how shy some of my fish have become. Guess it's so quiet in the day that when I get home they get spooked and hide.

Maybe I'll start playing motley crue for them all day long and keep them awake. ;)

maybe you could get something like an airstone that you could have on while you're out to break up the stillness but turn off once you get home so you can enjoy the silence
although I like the Motley Crue idea... as long as it's something from Dr. Feelgood or earlier!! hehehe

I think I'm going to turn this stone off at night just to give the fishy a break - I don't think he minds the bubbles but I know he'd appreciate some calm time too =)

I'm just hoping he survives the transfer... I didn't realize until it was too late that I didn't have enough water conditioner to do that size tank

he's used to living in a gallon of spring water and now he's in 10 gallons of hard well water - I only had about 6 capfuls of stuff left :/